Dancing in the rain
by DominoMags
Summary: While walking across campus, Izuku has an encounter with a member of the rival class, one that will bloom into a meaningful friendship. But is there more to it?


It happened so suddenly. It was as if the sky had opened up, unleashing a torrential downpour. Two separate souls were caught in this storm and it was the storm that would bring them together.

Izuku Midoriya ran across campus, holding his All Might umbrella tight. Storms like this could be calming when he was inside, but being stuck in it was another beast entirely. The wind blew and the green-haired boy jumped every time he heard thunder or lightning.

"Almost there" the hero student told himself as he ran for his dorm building. Something caused him to stop however: a student twirling around in the rain, wearing a large, flowey white t-shirt. Was she…dancing in the rain?

Izuku watered over, as if under a spell and saw who it was. Ibara Shiozaki seemed like a sweet innocent girl, but in battle, she was like a crusader. It was kind of intimidating and part of why Izuku normally avoided her.

And yet she looked so happy among the tempest, in her element as her hair soaked in the nourishing rain and the droplets showered her.

She looked happy and at peace, almost like a majestic wood nymph.

"Um…"

Ibara looked over and felt a jolt through her body.

"Oh…Midoriya is it? What are you doing out here?"

"I…I wanted to ask you the same thing…are you…playing in the rain? You…um…look a bit soaked" Izuku averted his gaze, blushing heavily and preparing to disgust the poor girl. He was sure she would chastise him for sinful thoughts.

But it never came.

"Oh…I suppose I do look a bit unbecoming…I just always loved the rain…I am thankful for nature's bounty and all the beauty it provides. The rain always felt good on my hair and skin…and I always…you don't want to hear…"

The girl paused and looked away. Perhaps it was her good mood, but she had no reason why she was being so forthcoming.

Izuku put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. Instead, they both turned into blushing messes. She felt so wet and smooth. Damn his awkward teen hormones.

"You…can still tell me if you want. I won't push you though."

Ibara smiled and brushed a vine from her eyes before looking at the sky.

"Well…I always used to sit outside and play in the rain…and when it stopped…I would wait to greet the rainbow. It was a sign of a covenant…that everything would be good in the end. Sorry…I must sound annoying."

"No…not at…I…would you believe I used to do the same?" Izuku took a moment and gazed back at the girl with a smile. "I guess it did work out in the end. We're living our dreams, right?"

Ibara paused and looked at the boy. His face seemed so earnest and clean in the rain. She wanted to know the rest of his story, to talk to him and learn more about him. Maybe she could even offer him some scriptures that helped her.

Instead, the girl took a leap and smiled back, offering her hand. A sweet fragrances mixed with the smell of petrichor, a scent if freshly watered flowers as the vine girl blushed deeply.

"Care to dance with me, Midoriya?"

Izuku smiled and took her hand. Normally he would be freaking out, but here? Now, before this stormy symphony? It felt right.

"Gladly."

Lightning struck between them as their fingers intertwined. And nothing was ever the same again.

X

A month had passed for the green-haired teens and they had adopted a routine of sorts. They would accompany each other to classes, despite their differences. Ibara could be scary despite her gentle demeanor, especially with the "divine punishment" rhetoric she had spouted in and after battle. It was on this cloudy day that the pair conversed about that training, which had only been the beginning of a more regular regimen.

"I suppose I do get a bit heated. I apologize for being off putting. My faith is very important to me. It helps motivate who I am as a hero, who I am now. But I don't wish to ostracize you because of it."

The girl bowed her head as if in prayer, her flowery heather colored skirt drifting gracefully in contrast to her five-iron frenzy shirt. Even she had her rock & roll side. She meant every word she uttered to the class a student, peeking up to make eye contact as to not be rude.

As the only Christian in her class, and one of the small percentages within Japan, she expected to feel alone. However she had met people who did not share her faith, yet had become important and valued friends to her.

Izuku now occupied that hallowed hall, though deep down in her heart, the Vine girl started to feel more. She was unsure if and when she would be ready for that particular confession.

Izuku shook his head.

"I have been through far worse. And...yeah. You can be a bit intimidating, but so were some of my other friends at first. Besides, you are more than just prayers and thorns. You like flower crowns and dancing in the rain. You're an interesting girl and I like that. You have something to believe in that keeps you going. That's the sign of a hero to me.…"

Realizing his words, both teens became flustered. Ibara couldn't help but giggle as the fluffy-haired boy stammered and directed.

"Well thank you. You have been most kind. As for the more...unorthodox behaviors... Those have been habits of mine since middle school. I was...my mother called me her little flower child. I was probably a bit more...free spirited back then I suppose."

"Well regardless of how you were, it suits you. Because plants. And um… you were probably just As nice them as you were now. I wish I had someone like you growing up."

The boy's awkwardness made the girl feel better about her own, as terrible as that sounded.

"That is a very odd thing to say...but I sense you had a rough childhood. Rest assured, you have me now."

A silence fell and the two teens decided to just breeze past that moment, not sure of how to register it yet.

They walked beneath a cloudy sky, breaking out their umbrellas. Izuku had an All Might one, modeled after his face, complete with his trademark hair tufts. Ibara opted for a simple green one, a family heirloom.

Noticing her company's umbrella, the vine girl decided to broach a topic important to both of them, especially Izuku.

"I still must apologize if I came off as, well scary during joint practice. I was going all out. We all were. We wanted to shine. I wanted to shine...I am hoping I can be a champion of peace and justice I suppose. Like Kamui Wood or…"

"All Might?"

Ibara nodded curtly then paused.

"Perhaps. I am afraid that I am not as enthused over him as you are. He is a great hero just...a bit too boisterous for me."

"That's ok, Shiozaki. We all have our favorites. All Might might he the greatest in my eyes...was...since he retired...but there are so many heroes out there that will he someone's favorite. Maybe one day, we'll be too."

"You...you think I'll be somebody's favorite?"

"Well of course. Your quirk is really strong and versatile and you already have great attack names. I...kind of like your first hero name better though. Vine is fitting but...Maria just stood out more."

"O-oh."

A sweet flowery scent wafted through the air nearby as small buds sprouted from the vibe girl's scalp. Her cheeks flushed a rosy red as her eyes fell to the floor.

"S-Shiozaki. Are you ok?"

"Y-yes. I am vine. I mean fine. Oh Heavens. That was unintentional." The girl shouted.

She was so embarrassed and flattered that she was pinning. She needed to hang out with Komori and Tokage less.

"You...you have a new look. I like the flowers. Um...may I?"

He was just getting used to girls after his first semester at UA and trusted all of his female classmates greatly. 1B were as well hunch as well, despite Monoma's bluster.

The thorny girl hesitated a but before closing her eyes. She felt Izuku's hand brush her hair, Trying to smooth out the thorns so that he didn't hurt his already scarred hands any further. If only she could heal them.

That's what Jesus would do. Or an aloe plant. Was it sacrilege to call the son of man "Humanity's Aloe Vera?" Now she was rambling in her own head. She would say she should spend less time with Izuku but she would rather not resort to that.

Picking the flower, Izuku smelled it and let it tickle his nose. Unfortunately, a raindrop did the same thing. Realizing he had lowered his weather protection, the One-for-all user made a judgement call.

"Maybe We should head inside. We can talk inside some more. If you want...I'm, here's your flower back."

The boy smiled sheepishly yet brightly.

Good lord, between The rain and the sunlight of his smile, Ibara could feel her vines grow longer and stronger, as did the scent. Tensing up, she retracted the vines. However she went rather short by mistake.

"It's fine. You can keep it. It's yours." The girl responded, losing a bit of her calm demeanor in a heat of awkwardness.

"S-Shiozaki! Your hair ...vines! Hair vines! They're short! A-are you sure you're ok?"

Feeling her hair instinctively, Ibara shot up slightly as her body tensed. She felt her verdant tresses and realized she had given herself an impromptu hairstyle change.

"Oh. Apologies. I can fix that. I suppose I-"

"I LIKE IT!" Izuku squashed like a fledgling seabird, trying to regain his composure as he pinned the flower to his shirt.

Taken aback yet again, the blessed botanist smiled warmly and offered her hand, cheeks filling with red again. She averted her eyes out of embarrassment but found them wandering back to his.

"Come out if the rain. I'll make tea"

"Right. Thanks."

And with that, the two headed inside, blissfully unaware of just what was blossoming between them and how strong it would grow.

**Righto. Let's add some notes today because I was too tired to do it last night.**

**So months back, I did a drabble on Tumblr based on an ask meme. The prompt was "dancing in the rain" or something like that.**

**I took forever to do this follow up and wanted to finally do it before I worked on finishing up my other MHA fics.**

**This story is after a Japanese r&b song of the same name and not the prompt. Just a head's up.**

**Anyway, it is a bit short and I probably could have continued directly after, but a month seemed fitting, given the circumstances. Plus it allowed me to keep this short.**

**I employed some headcanons, older and newer, including one or two from a friend. I hope they don't seem too rushed or forced in how they were implemented but I have had no complaints yet.**

**I did leave it open ended, should I or anyone else choose to explore this further. I like how it turned out and I hope you do too.**

**Xoxo**


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